The Archbishop of Canterbury has broken long-standing tradition by rejecting a
role at the top of the RSPCA in a move which will end decades of Church
leadership of the charity.

The decision by the Most Rev Justin Welby to decline the role of vice-patron will be seen by many as a snub to an organisation which faces accusations it has lost its way.

The announcement comes just a week after the charity faced calls to give up its role as a criminal prosecutor amid claims it is using court cases as a means of increasing its revenue.

In the past two years the number of convictions secured by the RSPCA has almost doubled, despite no rise in complaints to its animal cruelty telephone hotline.

The Archbishop’s rejection of the role is particularly striking given his four predecessors – Rowan Williams, George Carey, Robert Runcie and Donald Coggan – all took on honorary roles within the RSPCA.

It is likely to be seen as a deliberate distancing from a charity which has links with the church since its inception in 1834, when it was founded by a London vicar.

Lambeth Palace told The Times: “Since taking office in March this year, the Archbishop has received many kind invitations to patron a large variety of charities and good causes. Each invitation has been an honour, and in an ideal world he would like to accept them all.

“However, in light of the sheer volume of requests the Archbishop receives, and the many pressures on his time and resources, he has reluctantly decided to restrict his patronage to a manageable number of organisations, based on where he feels his support could be most beneficial.

“Nevertheless, the Archbishop has enormous admiration for the RSPCA and hopes to see its work thrive long into the future.”

Earlier this year the RSPCA was accused of wasting tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money after a case involving a hunt collapsed.

The charity had accused a family of interfering with a badger sett while assisting the Cheshire Hunt, but almost a year later the case fell apart when the charity admitted there was not enough evidence and the prosecution withdrew the case.

The cost of defence, estimated to be around £10,000, was paid by the taxpayer.

Tim Bonner, head of campaigns at the Countryside Alliance, said: “The RSPCA maintains that its increasingly political agenda is having no effect on the organisation, but the loss of a high-profile vice-patron suggests this is simply not the case.

“The RSPCA has a clear choice: is it an organisation interested in animal welfare or is it intent on pursuing a political agenda and using charitable funds to fight that cause? If it is the latter we can expect more local branch closures, more redundancies and fewer legacies and donations.”

The RSPCA said: “We have been informed by the Archbishop’s office that, due to the very large number of invitations he receives to support charities, he is not able to take on the position of vice-patron of the RSPCA. We respect that decision. The position of vice-patron is not held by every Archbishop of Canterbury as a matter of course.”